Neptunian Theory: Return of The Phantom
by MilesThorn
Summary: After years of peace, the heroes of Gamindustri find themselves against a foe unlike any other. With a strange new world and threat opened to them, coupled with a mysterious prophecy detailing a morbid future, how will our beloved heroines fare? Will they be able to keep themselves together, or lose themselves in insanity? Rated M for Mature
1. Prologue: Unknown

Neptunian Theory: The Return of The Phantom

by MilesThorn

 **Chapter 1: In Which we Begin our Tale**

In a darkened room, far away from all life as we know it, a lone man entered with barely a limp. With a slouched countenance and a breath quite rasp, he hobbled in a straight line towards his eventual goal, the light from the outside being the only guiding force for him.

The ghastly room let out a sigh of dust, having waited for another soul to enter its abode for nearly a century. The walls with their dilapidated paint, and the furniture with the fabric worn with time; such a familiar presence to this man, who merely shook his head at an age gone by. He cared little for the room then, and now when the time came for him to finally return to it, he felt a saddened expression he hadn't felt since his youth.

At the very end of the room, just at the edge of the outside light, rested a rather elegant box styled as a coffin. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, amethysts, and all sorts of gems dotted the fine structure, which was slowly losing its golden glow. All the pictures drawn upon it, which detailed the adventures and life of a long-lost soul, slowly etched away with the dust, leaving behind a shadow of what was once its former glory. The being did not mind for the lost work; such elegance meant little to him these days.

Alas, with weakened legs and a tired outlook, he arrived at such a creation. With the swift move of a hand, he carted away all the dust lying above on the surface, and marveled at the action he was about to do. Only the tiny insects that sought refuge here could witness his rather abstract decision this day. He observed the crevice as if it was his own painted canvas, and with a hefty sigh, he placed his rather metallic hands underneath the cover.

With the mightiest of heaves, his weakened frame was able to find the strength to lift the old cover straight off. It landed with a thud on the other side, kicking up the dust that formed itself into the air. The man paid no heed to the oncoming thicket, instead choosing to look down into the contents. Even without the proper ability to cry anymore, a rather depressing and nostalgic emotion swept through him. If he could, he would lie down and let the emotions out like rain on a summer day.

Inside the box, laying still as if slumbering, was the presence he sought for nearly a century. Their robes, still clean and tidy, matched perfectly with their sleeping posture. He placed a hand upon their worn cheek, hoping that, perhaps, they would feel the warmth of life radiating from it. Such a beautiful, tragic sight for him to behold. How long he waited for it.

"I'm...sorry I took so long..." the man mumbled to himself, overlooking the item that still pulled at his heartstrings. "I've never meant for you to wait. If...If I had the power, you would be with me since day one."

A little bit of dust dared to dirty its dress, and he swatted it away; nothing should ever dare stain the beauty of the being before him. "You must be so tired of waiting on me. I never was the best with time, I hope you remember!"

He even let out a hearty laugh, and kneeled before the box; though his knees were simply not designed to kneel, he would never prove to be rude towards the one soul he cherished the most. He placed his robotic arms together, and within his head, a prayer was sent.

"Those words I give every day," he let another laugh leave, "perhaps I won't need them much longer!"

With an amen stated, he forced his old body up, struggling as his legs tried their best to defy him. Even in his state, it seemed age wanted nothing more than to claim him. Was such a thing even possible anymore? Life works in mysterious ways.

Another stroke of the cheek, and if he could, he would allow a smile to be etched upon him. This sorry state this person was in; soon, in his eyes, such a state will be nothing but a terrible memory. All those days of wondering, worrying, beating himself up over it...it will all be over. Relief can finally return to his palette of emotions.

Preparations were almost complete.

With a sorrowful sigh, he turned away from the box, and looked towards the doorway. On the other side, sounds of shuffling feet and haunting music played over and over. Everyone outside was more than prepared for the great event he had planned. Not a single being in this whole building stood still or even took a tiny break; they all were frantic, rushing to get whatever task they needed finished as done as humanely possible.

He couldn't be more proud. Now, it seemed, it was his turn to get his own task done as soon as possible.

He turned again to the box, and let out another laugh. "It's almost time, my love. Your wait for me will finally come to a close. You...you won't have to worry about a thing anymore. I assure you that!"

He leaned against the box, looking down upon the contents. The light before him suddenly darkened, as another soul suddenly came in. Unlike this old soul, this one was youthful, anxious, and prepared to say the greatest thing the old being ever wanted to hear.

The young man, clad in silver armor much like the days of the medieval age, prepared a salute, and swallowed as much air as his lungs could hold. Today, in his mind, would be the best day of everyone's lives.

"Sir, preparations are completed! Awaiting your orders!"

The old soul looked up, but never at the younger one. A tiny cackle, almost too silent to be heard, came from his old lungs. "I see," he muttered, before walking around, grabbing the cover and placing it back on the box. The young boy ran up to help, but the old man shooed him away, still never taking sight of him. "Well then, get everyone ready. The red letter day is upon us!"

The young boy, sheepish in his stance, saluted once more with a "Sir!" coming out, before he ran back out, ready to fulfill his next major assignment.

The old being looked down at the box, and another feeling washed over him, only this time it was not of sadness, but of satisfaction. For once, a happy feeling returned to his worn heart.

"Your wait is over, Milady. Today, we make history once more. Today, you will join me again in our bliss. Today, you shall watch as your enemies crumble before you."

With another hearty laugh, the man hobbled out of the room, closing the door but taking care not to lock it. He knew that, unlike every other day that passed, this room will see its importance finally fade away.


	2. Prologue: Narration

**Chapter 2: In Which the Narrator tells all**

I'm certain by now you are all aware of who our heroes are and what their homeland is? I'm assuming you are all enlightened by the unity and power they possess against the forces of evil. Truly, their tale is filled with enough lore to write an entire series!

But, I'm certain some of you are unaware of who these heroes are. As such, I want to take this time to give a tiny recap. I hope I don't waste too much of your time.

In this vast planet, across the mighty sea, rests a group of landmasses joined together to form Gamindustri. Consisting of Lowee to the north, Lastation to the east, Leanbox to the south, and Planeptune to the west, this centralized land is home to thousands upon thousands of folks and monsters, all rummaging through their lives without a care in the world.

Each piece of land is ruled over by a Goddess, those blessed with the power of a CPU, a mysterious form rivaling Celestia itself. Joining them with their own CPU power are the Candidates, who oversee the land and make sure their elders don't destroy the world. Finally, just to keep everything in line, each land has their own Oracle, a secretary/overseer/manager of sorts that keeps the order flowing.

For Planeptune, there's Neptune, Nepgear, and Histoire; For Lastation, there's Noire, Uni, and Kei; for Lowee, there's Blanc, Ram, Rom, and Mina; and for Leanbox, there's Vert and Chika (Vert, for whatever reason, never received a Candidate of her own. Odd, given that Blanc somehow earned two).

In theory, the four Goddesses and their respective nations should be against one another at every point in their lives. There should be bloody battles, terrible wars, and a conflict so hot and cold that an ice cream treat would be decidedly average!

...yet, even though a scuffle or two has occurred over the past years, one could easily find the leaders just...y'know, hanging out from time to time. Right now, the last big conflict they had against one another involved Noire and Blanc getting into a stalemate 3,000 times over a rather mundane game of chess, and all that lead to was some yelling and sighing.

Most of the time, you might see Neptune shopping the game store with Noire, or Vert showing off another one of her, ahem, "niche" games to one of Lowee's Candidates, much to Blanc's dismay. Nepgear and Uni I don't even think know how to fight each other properly, and the Oracles I think aren't even aware that conflict could even occur in the first place!

I guess when an evil outside force comes to destroy, this apparent peace is good enough to get everyone to arms.

Of course, when evil strikes, the leaders aren't the only heroes of the land. This is where Makers come in; humans of Gamindustri that are so elite, they aren't even called Humans. It is the Makers that give the Goddesses their power, simply via believing in them. If people believed in their leaders, the "shares" of the nation increase, and the Goddesses could become virtually unstoppable. No shares means a weak, even possibly dead CPU.

The Makers our leaders tend to rely on include Compa, the medic of the squad; IF, the perky girl with a knack for adventure and cellphones; Lyrica, the beloved idol; and...well, the rest kind of come and go (even Lyrica shouldn't really be listed there). With these brave souls joining forces with the CPU's, Gamindustri's safety is all but assured.

Whew, got that out of the way. Now, onto the actual backdrop for the story you are about to read.

…

Three years ago, Gamindustri and our own Heroes were under attack by a deadly threat. A nefarious group known as ASIC arrived upon the world, quickly taking over the landmasses and ruining the lives of many. The forces, lead by a nefarious woman named Magic the Hard, quickly took out any who got in her way. Even the CPU's, at the peak of their powers, were quickly defeated and stowed away in a nearly mythological Gamindustri Graveyard, a hellish land where the dearly departed sigh in sorrow.

All hope was nearly lost, when suddenly the Candidates rose to the occasion. Lead by the growing leader Nepgear, the four Candidates quickly called for the Makers to join forces with them. Though the battle with ASIC was fierce, and with many moments where all hope appeared to be lost, our heroes broke through adversity, and defeated the horrifying group once and for all. The Goddesses returned, and all was well.

With the end of war, everyone went back to do whatever they did before. Goddesses to their lands, Makers to their homes; all was peaceful in the conglomerate of four nations. Time soon flew on by, and the world slowly changed with the wind.

Shares were at an all-time high, and everyone reaped the benefits. A time of joy and exuberance soon came to Gamindustri, and not a day went by where there wasn't a mention of something extremely positive. Monster levels were at an all-time low, and with the discovery of nearly 1,000 dungeons up in Lowee, a new era of discovery soon took hold.

New inventions came aboard, travel became even easier, and nearly the entire population soon found themselves richer than ever before. Entertainment grew to unprecedented levels, with the whole world simply forgetting that ASIC nearly destroyed them all just a short time ago.

Yes, if you were simply an average Joe living in Gamindustri during this time, life quickly became a party every single day. Unfortunately, if you were one of our heroes, life became nothing more than a job.

Many of our heroes struggled to adapt to this newfound life, with many finding themselves lost in the changed world. Godly duties were rare, and most were very easy to finish, with the government of each nation oftentimes contemplating whether or not they should stage something, just to get something done. The Goddesses simply went about life as normal, with the Candidates still growing to be future leaders.

The Makers went their separate ways, with only a few sticking together. Some went on to continue whatever professions they started with, while others decided to fight crime. Some simply chose to settle down, and enjoy life to the fullest, though many felt bored as the years drove on.

By the time our story begins, the world was still in a great era, but things started to...change. No one could really describe it, or even confirm if there really was a change. It was just...something in the air that felt very different. Perhaps it was the very hot summer air, or the fact that problems finally arose within Lastation's Basilicom; perhaps it was just the tedium of everyday life making people mad; perhaps it was just a dogoo spreading some sort of bad info.

The Goddesses and Makers all felt it, but lived on nonetheless. They look to the sky often, wondering if something was just waiting to occur. It was nothing to get seriously worked up over, of course; they could act based off of feeling, but history usually doesn't treat those choices well.

Perhaps that feeling was just a strange relic of a darker era. Perhaps it was an omen just biding its time.

Perhaps...perhaps it's a start of a new adventure.


End file.
